Vice Media’s “Unfiltered History Tour” won the Grand Prix in the Social and Influencer Lions, the campaign’s third top prize at Cannes in addition to Lions for Experience and Activation and Audio and Radio.

The campaign from Dentsu Creative India turned a trip to the British Museum into an interactive, AR experience to explore the true histories of works of art stolen from other cultures. The campaign partnered with people from countries the artifacts had been stolen from to create a series of audio and visual experiences to fill in the gaps traditional museum placards may leave out.

Why it won

Jury president Caitlin Ryan, VP of Creative Shop at Meta Europe, Middle East and Africa, said the group wanted to award work that went beyond amplification, or breaking the internet, and moves beyond the mobile screen to “create a really deep, personal experience for the consumer who’s interacting with the brand.”

The “Unfiltered History Tour” was an example of everything a social campaign should be, Ryan said—”it taps into culture, it creates engagement, invites participation, but probably most importantly, it allows previously unheard voices to be able to tell their story.”

What’s next?

Ryan was very passionate that the future of social and influencer advertising is no longer about deploying an influencer or audience to do a brand’s bidding, but to incorporate creators and fans into the work itself.

“The really brilliant social and influencer work is co-created in such a powerful way and is not just buying the influencer,” said Ryan. “What we saw that’s incredibly important is that when you are targeting an audience or are wanting an audience to socialize your idea, that you don’t just build for them, you build with them. That takes time and it takes intention and you can really see the work where they have been very specific about building with a community.”